New York College Student Builds Ventilator with Lunch Box, Water Bottle

Jacob Goodman may still be a junior at Binghamton University, but this engineering student has built something that could save lives across the globe during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The university recently shared a video of Goodman explaining his prototype for a ventilator that he built with supplies he bought at Walmart. Goodman used a lunch box, a collapsible camping water bottle, and some tubes repurposed from another water bottle. He 3D-printed a few other smaller parts.

According to NYup, Goodman's professor James Pitaressi sent his students information about ventilators, saying that "it would be cool to build one."

"I told him no problem," Goodman told NYup. "I'll get you a prototype by Monday. He did not believe me and said no way because of time and other things."

Despite having to build the ventilator by himself, Goodman emailed his professor a prototype first thing Monday morning.

“I knew that Jacob was very smart and resourceful, however working alone with limited resources and only a few days seemed like a very ambitious challenge,” Pitarresi told NYup. “When he interviewed for the Innovation Scholars program at Binghamton University, he described a number of projects he had successfully completed so perhaps I should not have been surprised in his accomplishment!”

NYup reports that Goodman has built rail guns, carbon dioxide lasers, and a bunch of different rockets before. Now he can add ventilator to his resume. During the video, Goodman showed his ventilator in action. Although he said there are a couple small issues, including a part that leaks, he is working to correct them before he starts on patenting his creation.

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Pitaressi told NYup that work like Goodman's is important not only to America, but also to developing countries who may not be able to support modern ventilators.

"For those situations, the challenge is how to best deliver a robust, reliable, and low-cost ventilator that can be deployed in ‘hot spots’ across the globe to treat this pandemic," Pitaressi told NYup. "The potential for saving lives is therefore truly significant."